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Saturday, 10 May 2014

Yesterday I reported that the leaders of Scotland's largest NHS boards want every Scottish child to be brainwashed into accepting same-sex marriage, and to be given the power overrule their parents' objection to such "sex education".

I am in Scotland and was greeted by this news when I picked up my morning newspaper yesterday morning.

How encouraging, then, to pick up my morning paper this morning and to read another story. The Telegraph reports that Catholic Church leaders in Scotland and leaders of the Kirk are fighting back, accusing NHS boards of making an "inappropriate" and "highly political" intervention and of actively undermining "the rights and consciences of parents".

Whilst I've been in Scotland these past few days I have met a number of church leaders and I am not surprised to note the strength of their immediate defence of parental rights.

I am not surprised, but I'm also mightily relieved that Catholic Church leaders and others in Scotland and others have spoken out. Let's just reflect again on what The Telegraph reportedyesterday: in a letter from Scotland's largest health boards to Scottish government ministers, NHS leaders have protested against new draft sex education guidance. The Telegraph report states:

"Allowing children to withdraw from sex education lessons on the grounds of conscience risks them coming under pressure from parents opposed to gay marriage, the health boards warned.

"Instead they argued that the guidance should include greater protections against parents mounting campaigns against the content of the lessons. Children should be given the power to overrule their mothers and fathers, it was suggested."

" ... we cannot defeat the culture of death which threatens constantly to overwhelm us on our own. Pro-life organizations and the wider community must be fortified by unequivocal, unyielding voices of Catholic Church officials and bishops throughout the world"

... as well as other church leaders.

As the threat in England grows (as I reported yesterday), I pray that we will see similar robust leadership from church leaders in our country too.CC

We are living in a time of Donatists and Neo-Calvinists within the Catholic Church. These heresies are always connected to a misunderstanding of grace and practice.

Jansenism is also rearing its ugly head. Why?

Because it is easier to a Pharisee than to be a saint.

Anything material is a gift from God and the Catholic Church has sacralized the pagan world. Some things which have roots in the occult, and that is different. Most of the occult we witness today is new, from the last century.

We are both material and spiritual not merely spiritual. To remove ourselves from the material world is impossible unless someone is insane. To deny our physicality in this world is not to be a Catholic.

Remember this: we are not totally spiritual, but body and soul.

What so many Catholics do is fall into rules for salvation, instead of becoming holy through grace.

The idea of grace has been misunderstand by many who have joined the Trad communities. Grace is given through the sacraments, whether done by a Trad priest or a NO priest.

One does not get more "grace" by doing things in the traditional mode; one may get merit; one can have more easy access to grace through the traditional movement. One may be made more open by attending the Latin Mass, and one may hear better sermons. But, one has access to the same grace of the Eucharist of sanctifying grace.

For example, one can be more humble in the Latin Mass because of the Liturgy. But, it cannot a become gnostic situation. Falling into the cult of personality, one can also fall into gnosticism.

Yes, there is more actual grace, no doubt. But, to think that one is saved by simply going to the TLM is a position of heresy.

But, one cannot think one is holier than those who do take part in secular things which has been sacralized by the Church.

The Western culture was created by the Church. One must not create a Calvinistic culture but rediscover the lost Catholic culture.

SS. Edmund Campion, John the Evangelist, Alphonsus Ligouri, Louis de Montfort, Gemma Galgani, Therese of Lisieux, Padre Pio, and the many new blesseds, Pier Giorgio Frassati, Louis and Zelie Martin, John Henry Newman and many, many more?

There are too many hyper-critical, unholy lay people not dealing with their own sins and pointing over and over to the sins of others.

Get real. What if God called you today and you had to account for your merits and sins before Him in your particular judgment?

What has been lost astounds me daily. For example, the laity at the TLM do not know their own unwritten rubrics, which were passed down for centuries, albeit with local differences.

For example, I try to explain over and over, that when the priest gets up after sitting on the side, the laity stand as well. And, the laity do not say the altar server parts of the TLM.

Sadly, some who have come over from idiosyncratic groups attempt to push their agendas on to the normal role of the laity.

Another odd thing is the insistence of men only in choirs. For centuries, there were women singing in churches. The choir loft was invented so that women could sing and not be in the altar or "monastic choir" area. Also, women and girls, taught by nuns, were sacristans for a long time as well.

Too many lay people have lost the sense of reverence, even in the TLM and either do not discipline their children or talk as soon as Mass is over.

These are all signs of memoricide.

Once a Catholic identity is gone, it has to be set-up again from scratch, which can be difficult. When certain personalities get involved in pushing certain ideals which did not even exist before the so-called watershed of Vatican II, confusion reigns.

Again, I wrote quite a while ago on the false romanticizing of a TLM past. However, we must keep memory of what went before.

I have an unusually excellent memory, which is a gift from God, and as a person who grew up with the TLM, which did not disappear before I was 19, I have tried to discuss lay habits and customs, so that extremes are not put into place and so that some of the older ways are kept.

Some younger TLMers become hysterical in their efforts to create something which never existed, while ignoring their own role as parents first.

By the way, us TLM kids learned the Latin before we made our First Holy Communion at age eight.

Why are parents not teaching their children the Latin? I offered to hold a Latin class and no one was interested.

I am still thinking of finishing my doctorate which has to do with the the Traditional Liturgy and continuity in the Anglican community, leading to the Ordinariate.

I have interviewed some clergyman on the point both in the states and in England.

My idea is one connected to this concept that the Liturgy keeps the memory of Catholicism alive in a community, and that "memoricide" totally disrupts the Catholic community in order to make it disappear.

Henry VIII tried this, as did Elizabeth I. The Muslim conquests attempted this as well. To destroy the liturgical infrastructure of the Church is to destroy the Church.

No Mass, no sacraments, no Catholic marriages, no vocations and so on...

Memoricide works. The Czech Republic, before the Soviet invasion, was a country with a long, alive heritage of Catholicism. The Soviet government succeeded in making it one of the most secular countries in Europe.

Memoricide destroys family histories as well. Those of my readers who have been following my ancestor series know how important oral tradition is in families, especially Catholic families.

Oral tradition is exactly what we have in the Traditional Mass.

Pray, that if it is God's Will, I can finish this study. Money is a problem, but so is the lack of stability in my life.

The term "memoricide" is used in this article above, a post which is a plea for the French to stop covering up the genocide of the Vendeans by ignoring this history. Memoricide can only be combated by the truth.

Many religions, including the Jewish and the Catholic use memory daily in liturgies. For example, we read the Doctors of the Church and the lives of the saints in the Office. We read the Psalms of David, which remind us to remember the Goodness of the Lord.

Memoricide has been part of the ideology of all governments, all tyrannies which hate the Catholic Church.

The Nazi regime wanted to erase the memory of the Jewish people from the nations over-run by Hitler.

Turkey denies the Armenian genocide and attempts to wash away all memory of that horrible time.

The Catholics is China and Japan not only were killed, martyred for the Faith, but their memories forgotten, except by the few.

This can and may happen to us. Our Catholic identity may become a mere memory.

The history of the Vendee reminds us the memoricide is alive and well in the world.

As long as there is the Mass and the Eucharist, we shall be a people of memory.

The main points I want to share with readers from Davies' book are these three.

First, those peasants, nobility and clergy of the Vendee formed a Catholic community. These people, as noted in the book, were not only joined by a strong faith, but by a sharing of that faith which crossed the levels of a class structure. The clergy came, as Davies notes, from the very families who lived there, and the nobility had good relationships with the people

Catholicism shared created community, and those in the Vendee experienced a Catholic community which fed Catholic identity.

Second, an important point which has been misconstrued by many Catholic men and women is that it is good and necessary sometimes to defend one's self and one's family. Today, an odd and highly un-Catholic pacifism has taken over the hearts of many men, who no longer believe they need to defend priests, wives, children, the old and even the Eucharist. Such cowardice was unknown among those who lived in the Vendee.

Third, the enemies of the Church desired genocide, the complete wiping out of the faithful in the Vendee. Davies writes that this was the "Last Crusade". Indeed, parents and teachers, this is the time to share the history of the Vendeans with your children and students.

We shall see these times again, perpetrated by those who hate God, His Church, His Papacy and His clergy.

As I have been studying this period of time with my student, we decided to read together Michael Davies' book.

One reason I chose this book and this rather forgotten time in the horrors of the French Revolution, is the obvious reason that we are living in similar times, when the hatred of the Catholic Church has taken over the hearts, minds and souls of so many governments.

We are faced with the growing arm of evil in almost all the so-called free countries of the world. That Catholics have been or are becoming marginalized are two alarming facts of government policies.

Of course, evil has always been on the earth since Adam's sin, but sometimes it is more obvious. Tolkein notes this in The Fellowship of the Ring."His arm has grown long indeed, " said Gimli, "if he can draw snow down from the North to trouble us here three hundred leagues away." "His arm has grown long," said Gandalf.
The events in the Vendee from 1793 reflect a deep identity with Catholicism, which carried over into a love for the Church and the Monarchy. The romanticzing of the French Revolution, even in so-called Catholic textbooks created an erroneous ideal which claims that freedom was on the side of the Masonic led era of terror, which from its beginnings, planned the destruction of the Church in France.

Davies reminds his readers of St. John Paul II's visit to the Vendee in 1996. Here is his speech to the youth there.

MARTYRS IN THE VENDEE COURAGEOUSLY REMAINED FAITHFUL TO CHRIST'S CHURCH

Pope John Paul II

In France to Young People September 19, 1996Dear Friends from Saint-Laurent-sur-Sevre and the Diocese of Lucon, Dear Young People, Thank you for coming to welcome me on my way in pilgrimage to the tomb of St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort. I am happy to greet you who were born in this land of the Vendee, you who cherish the precious memory of the pages of your history, both tragic and beautiful.You are the heirs of men and women who were courageous enough to remain faithful to the Church of Jesus Christ at a time when its freedom and independence were threatened. They were not detached from the movements of the time and they sincerely desired the necessary renewal of society, but they could not accept the imposition of a break with the universal Church and, in particular, with the Successor of Peter. And so the parish priest of Maille Joseph Herbert, inspired by the words of Christ, said nobly: "As a citizen of the State I have always given to Caesar what belonged to Caesar; but I will not refuse God what belongs to God".People of the Vendee had great love of the EucharistIn the terrible struggles, many deeds on both sides were stained by sin. But it was in holy union with Christ that numerous martyrs offered their life here, uniting with the Son of God in the sacrifice of the Cross. To the very end they followed their true Master, the One who came to reveal the truth which sets us free and the depth of God's love for all men.In the numerous acts of witness which have come down to us, it is moving to see that the people of the Vendee remained attached to their parishes and their priests despite the cruelty of the persecution. They had a real hunger for the Eucharist, at the risk of their lives, they desired to take part in Mass and to receive the Bread of Life. They wanted to receive the sacrament of forgiveness aware that we are always in need of divine mercy.Some of them, religious or lay, showed a touching Christian spirit when they tended the wounded regardless of which side they were on, or, when inspired by their leaders such as d'Elbee who convinced them to take seriously the words of forgiveness in the Our Father, they decided to spare their enemies.Dear friends, in recalling just a few events of your history, I would like to invite you to remember the best ones. Continue to follow Christ, like him, love all humanity, starting with the most underprivileged. Remain faithful to the Church, to the Eucharist and to the sacrament of forgiveness. Let yourselves be imbued with the love which comes from God! Far from cultivating a fruitless nostalgia, you will then be worthy of your ancestors and continue to live generously as living stones of the Church to which they remained attached to the point of shedding their blood for her. And now I address the young people gathered here, students of the Catholic and State schools. My friends, what I have just said concerns you just as much as your elders. I know that you sometimes have real difficulty in affirming your faith and your membership in the Church.May the martyrs guide you on your waySo, I say to you: be brave! Do not let yourselves be overcome by the indifference so widespread around you! Do not let yourselves be impressed by those who reject the demands of our Christian faith or who scorn it.It is now up to you to make your way! Your formation is a real training. Remember St Paul: he spoke of the athletes who trained for the race, at the cost of severe discipline, for a perishable prize, but the Christian knows where his efforts are leading him: to make his life succeed as a disciple of Jesus (cf. I Cor 9:24-27). If you enroll in the school of Christ, you will develop whatever is best in you; you will learn how to give as wel1 as to receive.You are not alone; you are part of a large community. In the Church the Pope, the Bishops united to him, the priests, the religious and the lay teachers in conjunction with your families are there to hasten to you, guide you and point you in the right direction. They have no other ambition than to pass on to you the Good News of Christ. Do not hesitate to call on them to help you grow in the faith!Like the disciples beside the river Jordan, you ask the Lord: "Master, where do you live?" He replies: "Come and see" (Jn 1:38-39). You know that these words are the theme for World Youth Day, next year in Paris. It will be an opportunity for many of you to share your Christian experience with young people from other countries in the world. Be ready to give them a friendly welcome.Dear friends, trust in Christ, hunger with him in prayer, be active members in the community of his disciples. Take your place in the Church without delay. With your brothers and sisters of all generations, work so that "steadfast, love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other," as one of the psalms says (Ps 85 [84].11).I pray that the martyrs of times past will guide you on your way, so that they will keep you free from all influence and power, and communicate to you their joy in believing and their courage in serving, after the example of Christ. For you, my young friends, and for you all dear faithful of the Vendee, I fervently invoke the intercession of St Louis-Marie, missionary, and that of all the blessed martyrs of your land. May Our Lady protect you!With all my heart I grant you my Apostolic Blessing.I would like to thank you for reducing the rain. The earth needs rain but sometimes one would really like the rain to be somewhat lighter. Indeed this has happened here, thanks to you! EWNT Archives

Friday, 8 February 2013

Doctors of the Church Series-Part Five on the dangers of spiritual self-will

This is the fifth part of the series on the Doctors of the Church. I have covered two out of the thirty-five.

I shall cover all of them from the point of view of my perfection series.

I shall include those honoured by both the East and the West. Seventeen who were declared as such before the great schism are to be included, of course. I have done Ephraim and John of Avila.

As there are only four women, my next set will cover them: SS. Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux and Hildegard of Bingen.

I am concentrating on their holiness and some of the writings. The reason a person is declared a Doctor of the Church is sort of like an honorary PhD. in holiness and excellence in writing. They have also shown that they are completely orthodox and true in doctrine.

One cannot, cannot be holy or find perfection outside of orthodoxy.

If a person insists on having areas where he or she is in disagreement with the Church in any way which is doctrinal, one is not on the way to holiness, but stuck in sin.

St. Catherine of Siena provides a perfect of example of obedience and clarity of mind. God gave her discernment, a gift which is part of prudence. Her dates are 1347-1380.

Her writings reflect deep prayer and a deep relationship with the Trinity.

Several days ago, I quoted her in depth on priests and holiness. Her she is again, from her Treatise on Prayer:

"For, if the soul truly have light, she will wish to arrive at perfection. In this second perfect light are to be found two kinds of perfection; for they may be called perfect who have abandoned the general way of living of the world.

"One perfection is that of those who give themselves up wholly to the castigation of the body, doing great and severe penance. These, in order that their sensuality may not rebel against their reason, have placed their desire rather in the mortification of the body than in the destruction of their self-will, as I have explained to you in another place. These feed their souls at the table of penance, and are good and perfect, if their penance be illuminated by discretion, and founded on Me, if, that is to say, they act with true knowledge of themselves and of Me, with great humility, and wholly conformed to the judgment of My Will, and not to that of the will of man.

"But, if they were not thus clothed with My Will, in true humility, they would often offend against their own perfection, esteeming themselves the judges of those who do not walk in the same path. Do you know why this would happen to them? Because they have placed all their labor and desire in the mortification of the body, rather than in the destruction of their own will.

"Such as these wish always to choose their own times, and places, and consolations, after their own fashion, and also the persecutions of the world and of the Devil, as I have narrated to you in speaking of the second state of perfection.

"They say, cheating themselves with the delusion of their own self-will, which I have already called their spiritual self-will, 'I wish to have that consolation, and not these battles, or these temptations of the Devil, not, indeed, for my own pleasure, but in order to please God the more, and in order to retain Him the more in my soul through grace; because it seems to me that I should possess Him more, and serve Him better in that way than in this.' And this is the way the soul often fails into trouble, and becomes tedious and insupportable to herself; thus injuring her own perfection; yet she does not perceive it, nor that, within her, lurks the stench of pride, and there she lies.

" Now, if the soul were not in this condition, but were truly humble and not presumptuous, she would be illuminated to see that I, the Primary and Sweet Truth, grant condition, and time, and place, and consolations, and tribulations as they may be needed for your salvation, and to complete the perfection to which I have elected the soul.

"And she would see that I give everything through love, and that therefore, with love and reverence, should she receive everything, which is what the souls in the second state do, and, by doing so, arrive at the third state. Of whom I will now speak to you, explaining to you the nature of these two states which stand in the most perfect light."

What Catherine is warning against is the great temptation to pride which happens in the Illuminative State. Here is the place where people become heretics or schismatics insisting on their own insights or directions and separating themselves from Rome.

I believe that such men as Calvin and Knox became very holy before falling into certain ideas which carried them away from the Church and away from holiness.

How many times have you witnessed a person who is charismatic, a leader in the Church and very pious suddenly fall away over one thing?

I have seen marriages break up when a pillar of the Church commits adultery or supports a child in a homosexual relationship, or who changes his mind about women priests and holds an opposite opinion.

The road to perfection STOPS and the soul slides back into darkness.

It happens too easily.

The experience of love and light make these men and women confident in God, but the temptation to be overly confident in themselves leads to sin.

They fall into self-deception and Catherine saw this happening in the Church. The Illuminative State brings love and power. But, humility must accompany this state or the temptations of pride creep into the soul.

After the active and passive purification, comes more enlightenment, as there are stages in the Illuminative State.

God prepares the soul for His Love. We must have our hearts and minds ready with no hindrances for that Love.

Leon Bloy

Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma

The Church Must Not Be Defensive

click here

Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics

click here

GUILD PRAYER

God our Father, source of life and freedom, through Your Holy Spirit you gave the Carmelite, Titus Brandsma the courage to affirm human dignity even in the midst of suffering and degrading persecution.

Grant us that same spirit so that, in refusing all compromise with error we may always and everywhere give coherent witness to Your abiding presence among us.